Pyuunsuke n' the Lovebug
by yogirlonfire
Summary: Momotarou's stag beetle, Pyuunsuke, has got the blues, and our beloved Nitori aches to watch. These two go out to scavenge a little companion for the bug, but they may just come back having found something else!
1. Chapter 1 - This one's for you

Seasons do come and go. Fall was letting its presence be known, and the wind rose over Samezuka Academy, each gentle whistle of air peeling away at the fond memories of the prior year. Or, at least, that's what our swim club's captain, Aiichirou Nitori, felt.

Another season settling in was another reminder, another day, week, month without Samezuka's finest members of the school's most notable swim team. It was a loss on their part, but also a gain for the junior captain.

A gust of wind batters over the grey-haired teen, and he snugs his wool beanie tighter. Colorful paper lanterns hanging from the eaves of Samezuka's brick arches rattle under the breeze, a sweet touch from the decoration committee, the boy admires. It wasn't a particular bustling day. Aiichirou was hastening back to the dorms, fresh from a personal practice at the pool. A relay was set for the following week, and the duck was not about to get rusty before his trial. In colds hands, the boy clutches a baggy of sakura chips, figuring his roommate might want a little snack fix after staying in their room for the entirety of breakfast, brunch, n' lunch.

 _'Which was strange,'_ Nitori thought, since the sophomore he roomed with had the attention span of a peanut.

His loud and boisterous roomie, Momotarou Mikoshiba, could hardly stand still, let alone stay in the same room for more than an hour—sleeping out of the picture. When he'd left, Momo was oddly fixed at his desk, scratching his pencil away at his notebook and studying his pet bug.

 _'Stag beetle,'_ Momo's voice internally corrects him. _'Pyuunsuke!'_

Nitori inwardly sighs, gently knocking a knuckle against their door to announce his arrival. He enters.

"Momo-kun, I'm—"

"AI-SENPAI," Momo cries in greeting, jumping before his junior like a wild sumo prepped for a brawl. Nitori flinches and blinks, lifting thick grey brows in a mute question. "Pyuunsuke's sick, Ai-senpai!"

"Oh... is that why you stayed in?"

"Yes, yes! _And_ I have the work to prove it!" Momo ambles back to his desk, slapping his composition book open to showcase his hard work and studying. Averse to that, neat work slowly swirled to chicken scratch in the margins, even little doodles of caricatured Pyuunsukes in various spots of the pages.

Nitori scrutinizes the notes with struggling aqua optics, lifting his gaze to the carrot top in wait of his reaction. He offers a sheepish smile. "...Maybe he's lonely?"

Momo's golden optics glaze over dubiously, and he assess his shorter senpai as if he were being challenged.

"Ai-senpai, you think I don't know _my_ Pyuunsuke?"

Nitori's hands fly up, waving frantically. Momo had a way of exaggerating with his bugs, but honestly, he took the specimen too serious sometimes. The boy dispels this with a laugh. "No, no! I never said that! I mean," Nitori approaches the desk, eyeing the stag beetle who was humbly sitting in his mason jar of a home. "He seems awfully sad, Momo-kun..."

"He hasn't been eating his food, either!" Momo cries. "He didn't even touch the fresh melon I put for him... Melon is his favorite, Ai-senpai!" This is followed by a pout and dramatic whimper.

Nitori's fazed visage quickly melts to sympathy for his roommate. As silly as it seemed, Pyuunsuke had become a special addition to their little room. It did a little bruise to Nitori's heart to see his typically jovial friend so hung up over his saddened beetle, and offering uneasy smiles didn't ease his kouhai out at all. So, he draws a puff of air, steps up to the desk and really, _really_ studies the stag beetle. And then it hits him.

"Momo-kun..." Nitori glances over his shoulder, his beauty marked cheek perking under his squint. "I think Pyuunsuke's lovesick."

Momo makes a sharp intake of breath, bolting and hip-bumping Nitori out of Pyuunsuke's field of vision. "Is that it, Pyuunsuke?! You need yourself a lady?!"

Nitori sullenly pouts behind, readjusting his lopsided beanie.

"Ai-senpai!" Momo snaps with a sneer.

"Un?!"

"We have to get Pyuunsuke his mate!"

"His...mate?"

"Yes, yes, yes. And you can help me, right?"

 _'Another stag beetle to take care of?'_ Nitori inwardly ponders, mentally kicking himself for voicing his thoughts aloud. He was just trying to comfort Momo, not give the green light to another addition in the room. The boy hums, azure hues darting around the room. He itched at the beauty mark dotting beneath his right eye pensively, avoiding Momo's awaiting gaze.

"...Maybe we should get him a better habitat?"

Momo's jovial expression sank to Nitori's answer, and he puffs out his cheeks in a childish pout. "You're a meanie!"

"Ah!"

Meanie? That was a peg down for his senpai status, and Ai did not appreciate. He folds his arms, adopting a motherly tone. "This is for you to figure out, Momo-kun..." The duck's furrowed gaze drops to the bag of chips in hand, and he extends it to the citrus-haired one before him. Maybe he could put a little bribe out to dispel his answer. "I bought you those sakura chips you like!"

As predicted, Momo swipes the bag out of his hand and marvels it with catlike optics, crooning. "Aweeesome! Arigatou, Ai-senpai!"

Lucky for Nitori, he also happened to room with a huge baby.

* * *

It wasn't until 12:00 AM that Momo made his great escape from Samezuka's dorms. He wasn't quiet about it, either. Nothing coming from a Mikoshiba was ever quiet.

The loud clap of their door and _'click!'_ of the knob is what stirs Nitori. He lazes out of bed, typically neat bob stuck up in tufts. "M'm-kun..." He slurs. "Did you hear..?"

The duck climbs the double-decker's ladder, barely peeking his eyes to his roommate's mattress. To Nitori's discern, no Momo occupied the bed. Just crumpled sheets, a fluffed pillow, and a peach note tagged to the metallic rim of his bed.

 _went out to find love for pyuunsuke! b back soon!_

Nitori's cyan eyes bulge like pen poppers. He let his roommate wander out after curfew. His head would be had if anyone caught him, and the thought of being stripped of a title he'd worked so hard to earn made the boy tremble. The duck quickly scrambles about and out his pajamas, slipping into powder yellow shorts, topped with a key-lime and pink tee. A little duck is stitched to emerge out the breast pocket, and Nitori huffs heroically before snugging a little backpack on.

 _'Ooowah. Think like Rin-senpai, think like Rin-senpai!'_ Our little duck chants, fleeing the dorms in search of the escapee. A total Momo thing, so like him to leave Nitori tailing over bread crumbs.

* * *

A young carrot head surveys forest grounds, the expanse of grass and trees bordering Samezuka being the perfect spot to catch a lover for his beetle. He hikes the pea green backpack riding over his shoulders higher, a little lantern dangling off a pole protruding from a pocket. Momo's in the zone, scouring the bushes and holding fast to a flashlight. The boy clicks his tongue consistently, a quiet call to the female stag beetles.

Suddenly, a hissed falsetto breaks through the crisp fall air, and Momo turns to see Nitori approaching with a nervous skip in his step.

"Ai-senpai!" He can't resist to disturb the peace of the forest, golden optics glimmering with joy. "You've come to help find Ms. Pyuunsuke!" The boy crows, tossing his flashlight to the grey-haired and crouching again. Nitori struggles to catch it like a hot potato. Momo bobs. "Mrs. Pyuunsuke!" He corrects himself.

"Momo-kun, we're not supposed to be out so late! We'll get in trouble, and—"

"Don't be such a worrywart! Come help me check the bushes over here. I think I saw something scurry!"

Nitori sighs, clicking on the flashlight and trudging to his companion. "Please, let's just go back to our room."

"No freakin' way!" Momo protests, lips pursed in argument. "Stag beetles are nocturnal, and I will not let Pyuunsuke be a lonesome bachelor!"

"Ech..." Nitori cants his head, sweat dotting his cheek as he flares the light off to the trees.

"Maybe we should get two," Momo muses aloud, tapping his chin pensively and crab-walking across the grass. "Stag beetles are spicy creatures, and they like having more than one mate sometimes!"

Nitori sulks. "Oh, that's...unique."

His roommate nods vigorously, a grin breaking off his face.

And with that, the pair begins their little search for Mrs. Pyuunsuke. They scavenge fruitlessly, Nitori crying out false alarms about every time a leaf skitters across his shoe. Momo keeps his head ducked, intent and constantly warbling about anything and everything; the sky, the moon, the stars, and even—

"You think Gou-san will find this romantic, Ai-senpai?"

Nitori stops along a small bush, giving the query a little thought. "She might think of it as very heroic of you. You taking care of Pyuunsuke and offering so much to a beetle..."

Which was, in a sense, true. Nitori thought this awfully kind of Momo to scramble out of his way just to lift the spirits of something so insignificant as a beetle. That was Momo, though. Despite the constant loudness, he was always an encouraging friend and kind boy. He had his quirks, Nitori of all knew...but his passion for the smallest things was moving. His lips shape into a little smile, and he nods. "Maybe."

"All right!" Momo pumps a fist enthusiastically. He returns to busy-body work for a moment before turning to his friend again. "Ai-senpai!"

"Yes, Momo-kun?" the grey-haired lifts his gaze, blinking.

Suddenly, Momo's looking off to the side, twisting the toe of his shoe in the grass bashfully. "Thank you... for coming out to help me," he offers through pursed lips. "It means a lot to me...and Pyuunsuke!"

Nitori blinks doe eyes owlishly before responding with a soft smile, shoulders raised in a little triumph. It was often he ran with along with Momo on his schemes, but only because it was his duty as a senpai. Right? He always appreciated the other's presence, even when he was the most obnoxious. It was a little sweet to know Momo did recognize the effort.

"...hai."

A little rustling disrupts the comfortably prolonged silence between the boys, and Momo quickly whips his head to the noise, hastening to the sound as quietly as he could. That was rendered useless, though, with otter boy's clumsy footing and constant clamor of scavenging tools dangling in and out his backpack. Aiichirou follows in suit, cupping his hands at his mouth and whispering. "Mrs. Pyuunsukeee?"

"Ai-senpai, that's silly. Mrs. Pyuunsuke can't talk, and you'll scare her with your voice." Citrus boy chides in what he thinks passes for a whisper.

Instead of Mrs. Pyuunsuke, a wild raccoon scurries past the boys' feet, and they yelp in surprise, staggering back. Momo rights himself immediately, smacking the back of his hand into Nitori's chest.

"Ai-senpai! It's a raccoon!"

Nitori shakes his head at the boy, blanched and puzzled.

"Raccoons eat stag beetles!"

"...um—"

"Raccoon? Stag beetle? Feast! Put it together, Ai-senpai! That raccoon is looking for food!"

Nitori whimpers, foreseeing a bad idea from the great Momotarou Mikoshiba.

"FOLLOW THAT RACCOON, AI-SENPAI!" Momo darts away, and Nitori is standing in a silent stupor.

"Momo-kun..." He whimpers, dragging his tired legs in haste to catch up with the eccentric ginger.

The duo makes their way after the fleabag, following until they come to a twisting sidewalk that leads back to Samezuka. Nitori skids to a halt, panting vehemently and bending over, clutching his knees.

"M...Momo-kun, wai..."

The sophomore stops in his hot pursuit of the raccoon, which was, by now, too far to be trailed after. He catches his breath within a few seconds, sauntering back to Nitori and patting his shoulder.

"Ahah, don't worry, we'll catch 'im next time!"

To this, Ai sweeps the comforting hand, shaking his head and standing upright. "That's not it, Momo-kun! I'm very tired, and it's so late. We should just go now. We can figure out what we'll do for Pyuunsuke in the morning."

"But, senpai!"

"No, Momo-kun! I'm putting my foot down!" And he stomps.

 _And he squish._

Slowly, mechanically, the boys look down to the crunch. Nitori lifts his foot, and sure enough, underneath is the corpse of a female stag beetle.

Momo and Nitori lock eyes, slack-jawed. The silver-haired shota finally croaks out.

"I, I'm sure it's not..."

"MRS. PYUUNSUKEEE!" Momo cries, dropping to his knees and clawing hands up to the night sky to express his scorn to this cruel world world and Ai-senpai's cursed top-siders.

Nitori practically squeaks in horror, clutching his cheeks and wiggling his foot out of the weapon of a shoe. He hops away from the crime scene, flailing. "Ah, ah, no! Nooo!"

"NOOOO!" Momo echoes from behind.

After flying away from the incident, runaway Cinderella was being followed moments later. Momo was sprinting to his roomie, flailing in the same fashion Nitori had done when he fled the scene. "Don't worry, Ai-senpai! It was an accident! I know you didn't mean to kill Mrs. Pyuunsuke!"

"Momo-kun, please, don't say I killed Mrs. Pyuunsuke!" Ai's hands fly to his ears, and he pouts loudly to dispel the sound of Momo's raucous voice.

"Manslaughter, then!"

"Momo-kun!"

The klutzy steps of his roomie's sneakers increase in sound as they tunnel through the arches leading back to Samezuka. Nitori's attempts to cloud out Momo's voice lay futile. He incessantly babbled to his senpai, chattering away until finally, he grabs the silver hair's shoulder. "Ai-senpaaaiii!" He whimpers.

Nitori nearly slips backwards, and finds himself face to face with Momo again. It's almost discerning to see so much concern in the boy's gold optics, and he finds himself averting eye contact timidly.

"Look, this stag beetle searching is really your thing, so I should just head back alone..."

"But we're having so much fun, Ai-senpai!"

Nitori's head practically whips back. "Eh?"

"Hunting for stag beetles is fun with you!" The carrot top repeats.

To this, Nitori furrows a brow skeptically, cerulean optics scanning over the individual. What was so fun about tagging along? Did Momo really favor Ai's presence? Why _did_ Ai tag along? Momo had already won over his senpai. Ever since he proved his loyalty to Rin, and the entire Samezuka team. He was a true companion, the best he even had, really. And here he was, a literal smasher of Momo's dreams. He was thoroughly confused as to why Momo would want him by his side, and he remained quiet.

"...Okay," he succumbs, nodding.

"So you'll stay?!" His roommate's eyes light up.

"Hai."

Momo victoriously pumps his fists in the air, bellowing loudly. "YAHOOO! ~"

"But, Momo-kun..." Nitori expels a little sigh, a smile lighting his face to see his friend's childish behavior resurface. "I'm parched. Can we make a quick stop to the vending machine?"

"No need to!" Momo answers, stripping his backpack and pulling out a soda can. He sticks it out to his senpai, eager for the remainder of their expedition.

"Arigatou," Nitori says, snapping open the can.

 _SPRITZ!_

Poor, poor Ai-senpai takes the worst offense, and is mercilessly assaulted by a wave of melon soda. He squeals, dropping the beverage and rubbing his wet face.

Momo stuck in his spot, wincing on the boy's behalf and letting his shoulders droop.

Momo flinches, lips shaping a silent "ooh". He raises a hand to apologize when a loud sniffle sounds before him.

Nitori was making a terrible attempt of holding back tears. Aqua bubbles welled up in the corners of his big, baby blues, and his cheeks were flushed a dainty pink hue. He sniffles again, and the waterworks are beginning to ignite.

But before that can even occur, the most unexpected thing happens: Momo envelops with boy in a tight embrace.

"Un! Momo-kun?" The shorter queries through a stuffed nose, shoulders squeezed under his friend's lock.

"I'm sorry, Ai-senpaaai! I didn't mean for any of this to happen! I just wanted to find Mrs. Pyuunsuke, and I ruined your entire night! I'm sorry!" The ginger cries, his voice tight like the last drops of a lemon.

Loud as the other was, Nitori was thoroughly touched by the genuine apology. Momo was hardly one to be rattled, ever, and even hearing an honest apology for something that wasn't entirely his fault moves Aiichirou. His sniffling comes to a slow halt, and he feels an unfamiliar warmth blossom in the pit of his stomach.

 _'Butterflies?'_

Momotarou releases his hold on the smaller senpai, donning a bright n' shiny smile for the other. "Tell you what. We can go grab some breakfast! Maybe some food in your stomach'll help your mood."

"Eh? Breakfast, now?"

"Heheh, what time do you think it is, Ai-senpai?"

"Well... I'm not sure."

"Four AM," Momo laughs, folding his arms with a satisfied beam. "You stayed up with me the entire night!"

"Ah! ...Oh, that's...not like me at all." Ai comments quietly, smoothing his soda slicked hair. He pinches trim ends, grimacing at how much of a mess must have looked like. Truly, he felt disheveled all over, and stepping into a public area looking so trashed did not fancy his taste.

"Don't worry, there's probably no one around at this time, anyway!" Momo echoes his internal commentary.

 _'...Everyone deserves a friend like Momo-kun...'_

"Hai!"

* * *

After the boys make entry of the 24-hour breakfast-diner, Momo saunters to the back for Ai's convenience. Quietly, Nitori follows, mazing past the lacquered tables and potted ferns situated towards the back. He does his best to avoid the strange glances from the handful of people occupying the diner, making feeble attempts to fix his mushroom cut hair and veil the fact that he was hobbling with one shoe. His blue-grey locks were sticky _and_ mousy now, like some sugar saturated hairspray.

The pair slides into a corner booth and pick menus from a compartment, skimming over delectables. Of course, Momo had been making commentary about his hankering for some fried eggs and o-j.

 _'Momo-kun...'_

He was such a ditz. And a chatterbox. With zero boundaries. And he'd talk about whatever whenever he felt like, always incessantly rambling about the silliest things. It worked in winning him over, though. Without his permission, a smile forms on the tousled boy's lips.

Momo had a wondrous way of pushing people's buttons _and_ smiles. Especially Nitori, as of late. It seemed that the more time he spent with his roommate and swim club member alone, the more he grew fond of him. He was awfully charismatic, though one wouldn't know, when the ginger seems to strike the most vociferous of impressions all the time. Nitori mentally apologizes for rendering Momo a bigger fool than he really was from the day they first roomed.

"—Ai-senpai! Earth to Ai-senpai, come in, Ai-senpai!" Momo waves a hand before the shota's face.

"Oh! Ah, sorry, Momo-kun. What is it?"

"I asked you what you wanted to order, Ai-senpai," the carrot head laughs, an ear to ear grin plastered on his goofy face. "What's going on in Ai-chan land?" He leans his face into a hand, sneering and batting his eyes shut at Nagisa's nickname for the boy.

The junior puffs a cheek to this, sour. "I was just thinking whether I should get a muffin or strudel," he lies.

"Oh! Mmm, mnnn...strudel!"

Nitori questionably purses his lips. "Do you want me to get strudel because _you_ want to have strudel?"

"Don't be such a meanie, Ai senpai!" Momo dodges. "I'm buying! Since, ya' know, I ruined your night!"

Nitori shrinks with a note of embarrassment, pink tinting his cheeks. "No, Momo-kun, I...had fun. I really did!"

"Wha?! Really?"

"Hai! ...Oh, but I think stepping on Mrs. Pyuunsuke and getting splashed with soda made it less entertaining."

Momo exhales a snicker through his nose, suppressing a barrel of laughter. Nitori just turns a darker shade of pink. "...I'm sorry for that, by the way. I know how much you wanted to cheer up Pyuunsuke."

The orangey boy waves a hand dismissively, an honest and jovial lilt in his voice. "No need to be! I will definitely find another way to cheer Pyuunsuke up! Just watch."

With that, Nitori drops the subject, guilt hanging over him like an anvil the entirety of their conversation. If something happened to Pyuunsuke, Momo would be a wreck. Even though he'd originally caught him for Gou, the sophomore was very attached to his pet beetle. And Nitori had literally crushed its future.

Besides the burden of a bug, Ai and Momo chatter nonstop, and it was so easy to be reeled into Momo's crazy world where everything is in his hands. That's something to really look for in a senpai. Nitori made a mental note to be more of a model for Momo, just as Rin Matsuoka is to him.

At last, their light breakfast was served, and Nitori marveled the perfect _muffin_ he'd ordered. (Momo would have none of it.) It looked to be a cinnamon swirl of sorts with streusel sprinkled on top. The fresh waft of it made the inside of his mouth water, and when he lifted his head to see Momo, the typically boisterous otter was devouring his fried eggs and juice. Nitori smiles at this.

 _'Slow down, Momo-kun...'_

* * *

Eventually, the boys make it back to their dorm, partially satisfied from their prior snack at the diner. A half-asleep Momo makes no hesitation to toss his backpack to the side and climb up to bed, ignorant to change out of his daywear.

"Goodnight, senpaaai," he muffles, his lights knocking out with a snort.

Meanwhile, Ai hunches over at Momo's desk, scrutinizing the sleeping beetle that brought them to the situation in the first place.

Two plops of melon sat untouched beside Pyuunsuke. As much of a fan Aiichirou _wasn't_ of creepy crawlies, he sympathizes with the bug. _'I wonder...'_

He turns to the sleeping form sprawled above. Momo, so considerate of something so small, just as he is with Nitori. He always encouraged the boy, showered him with compliments, even, and followed along every step of the way. There should be a returning favor, shouldn't there? He had to prove he was worthy of upholding such a title in Momo's eyes. He had to show he could convey the feelings just as equally. After all this time, accepting Momo's praise without even sprinkling a little gratitude felt so wrong. Maybe he could let his actions speak louder than words. Ai checks the clock on his desk: 5:47 AM. This would give him only a few hours to find a beetle by sunrise.

At the base of the bed's ladder, Nitori calls up. "Because it means so much to you...I'll go find a Mrs. Pyuunsuke, Momo-kun! This one's for you."

No response comes, thankfully, and Ai creeps to Momo's backpack. He nabs it, and like the wind, hastens back out of their room.

* * *

Hours of fruitless scavenging avenge to victory for Aiichirou Nitori. He'd been about ready to quit, having had the most tedious night, ever. He'd tripped in a bush, gotten chased by a vengeful raccoon, and just when he was getting ready to bawl over his loss—there she was. A lively, little Mrs. Pyuunsuke, teetering up a tree trunk. Ai slowly crept towards her, keeping a firm grasp of his green net. He sweeps and catches the bug deftly, exhaling in surprise of his trophy beetle before carefully jarring her. Ai sniffles, rubbing a fist against his dirt-smacked cheek and continuing his victory trail back to Samezuka's dorms.

But there's big, bad news: students are roaming.

 _'What, what time is it?!'_

Nitori scrambles as fast as he can through the arched sidewalks of Samezuka, tunneling down the halls and avoiding any contact.

 _'I must have taken too long! Momo-kun, I can't believe I did this! Trying to prove I was an okay senpai! What was I thinking?'_

Ai practically flew to his room, akin to a chicken out the coop, the heavy backpack burdening his shoulder blades bouncing with each vigorous step to his room.

Finally, Ai makes it back to the Nitori-Mikoshiba residence, and he enters quietly. The young and disheveled captain shucks off Momo's backpack and slips Mrs. Pyuunsuke's jar out, tottering back to the desk where Pyuunsuke resides. He places the jar on the tabletop and catches his breath.

The night of constantly running and ducking, searching and scouring, tumbling and falling—was it worth it? The junior boy's liquid gaze casts up.

 _'Did I really do all of this for Momo-kun? Why did I do this?'_

It had seemed like a logical idea when he had ran out of their room, but the duck couldn't help but feel an underlying truth in his actions. He relays the past few hours, him and Momo's pursuit of a bug. Momo being perfectly content with conversation, even when his senpai participated out of exhaustion with the other. Even then, the grey-haired found some comfort in the other for being a voice in the void. He finds himself thinking of the way Momo had looked at him, right before the brutal spray of melon soda.

Yes, he is a ditz. Yes, he talks incessantly and yes, he can get annoying sometimes. But, he is Ai's friend and he _loves_ his stupid chattering, and he _loves_ his constant obedience, and he _loves_ his stupid face.

The sun soaking through the window bathes their room in a vibrant peach, and it lingers like a bruise on Nitori's tired lids. His breath catches in his throat, and a swarm of pink invades his cheeks at the realization as to why he felt the needed to do so much nonsense for Momo rose like the morning sun. _'...AH!'_

"This is _not_ something Rin-senpai would have done," he shakes his head down, expelling a loud sigh and balling pale hands into fists. "I..can't believe I..."

The familiar _'click!'_ of a bolt interrupts the duck. A bright-eyed Momo slaps the door open, clad in his uniform. Rivulets of water in his shorn of citrus hair tell of a morning shower, and he dashes up to his elder.

"AI-SENPAI! You weren't here in the morning! I thought you'd gotten up earlier than me, so I—wait! Ai-senpai, why do you look so much dirtier than when we got back?"

Aiichirou deadpans briefly to his roommate's clamorous voice so early before another influx of heat dusts his visage. Momo was right, he probably did look like a wreck. His bluish-grey mushroom bob looked like it'd been bulldozed, and it was fairly greasy now. His clothes were caked in patches of dirt, and he still didn't have a shoe!

"Calm down, Momo-kun. I—" Nitori starts, but Momo cuts him off by prodding his cheek with a forefinger.

"Your cheek is scuffed, too, Ai-senpai! What'd you go do?"

The silver-haired mindlessly swats the hand, to which Momo brings back and cradles against his chest, pursing his lips like an injured baby. "Mean!" His voice pinches.

"Momo-kun," Nitori draws a breath, stepping aside to show off the stag beetle he'd worked so hard to catch. "Mrs. Pyuunsuke."

The gingers warbles in excitement, slapping his palms on the desk and rattling the mason jars. "You didn't!" He cries in disbelief, a broad smile popping over his tan features. "Ai-senpai, this is perfect! I can't believe you did this for me!"

"Well, you were really broken up about Pyuunsuke..." The rosy hue lingers in Nitori's cheeks, and his gaze slides to the floor sheepishly. "It's really wonderful that you want so much for something so...insignificant." He alludes, unable to contain a heartened simper.

"Wait 'til Gou-san gets a load of this! ~"

"Eh?!"

"She'll think it's so cool, Ai-senpai!"

"...really." Ai deadpans.

"YES, YES!"

Ai pinches his lips together at this, the innards of thick grey brows pulling up in confusion.

 _'He doesn't get it.'_

"Okay, Momo-kun..." He offers a meek smile, defeated by the other's relentless crush for Gou. "...go show her!"

"I will!" Momo ignorantly agrees, joining Mrs. Pyuunsuke with Mr. Pyuunsuke in the same jar before turning heel. "Wish me luck, senpai!" He salutes, running out the door and leaving the other in a cruel silence.

A sour pang inflates and badumps in Ai's chest, and his big, cyan hues swell with a certain charisma. This was his job as a senpai, after all. To encourage his _significant_ kouhai.

"Good luck...Momo-kun..."

* * *

 **a/n: This story is written to take place after 'Eternal Summer', so it was lotsa fun to write! I ship this to the max, and I totally could not help having poor Nitori tag along with his nightmare of a boyfrie—roomie. Next chapter'll be a sure shooin'. See ya soon!**


	2. Chapter 2 - This one's for me

The cold wind whistling around the curve of Samezuka's aquatic center made Momotarou's teeth chatter as he walked to his swim class. All day, he'd been lugging around Mrs. Pyuunsuke, showing her off to a couple acquaintances, who merely showcased antsy smiles and waved him off. Momo didn't quite get it, though. Why ignore the beauty of a such a genuinely _awesome_ beetle?

Aside from that, the young ginger muddles through swim practice, making his ultimate goal to set a new record for prelims. Being enveloped in the massive pool after such a strenuous night had felt overwhelmingly satisfying, but the boy's backstroke hadn't been at his best like he'd hoped.

Every time he'd run a new lap, pushing himself to try harder, his mind veered back to the night. Nitori's distraught face shrouds his thoughts, and he keeps swimming, up and back, in vehement bursts until he—

 _Bump!_

Sinks like a rock.

The distracted otter resurfaces, pulling air into his lungs with a wild gasp. He stares down his lane as if it'd wronged him in some way, and then that familiar voice snaps him out of the intense stare he'd set over the waters.

"Momo-kun, are you all right?" Aiichirou Nitori queries.

The carrot-mopped boy swivels, looking up to his senpai. An imperceptible pink specks his cheeks, and he pushes off his embarrassing display with a laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "Ah, ah, I'm fine! It's just the lack of sleep, ya' know!"

Nitori's brows furrow, and his big cyan optics squeeze with his chide. "I told you it was a bad idea..."

"Yes, but you got Mrs. Pyuunsuke for me out of it!

Ivory hands squeeze tight around the even paler ducky towel draped around the petite captain's neck, and something that sounds like a little huff sounds from the teen. "For you," he repeats, turning heel and flip-flopping away from the other.

 _'What was that about?_ ' Momo clutches the border of the pool, blinking catty lemon optics.

After calling it quits for the day's trial, Momo scours the locker room for his senpai. There had definitely been something amiss with Ai today, and the boy was determined to find out. They had such a great time last night, so it left the younger puzzled. It isn't until he's sauntering back outside when he spies the silver-haired one engaged in conversation with another teammate.

The bolstered boy springs to the shorter, invading conversation without a twitch in his winning smile. "Ai-senpai, Ai-senpai!"

"Un, what is it, Momo-kun?" The smaller responds with a slight furrow to his charcoal brow.

"I've got Mrs. and Mr. Pyuunsuke with meee," the taller croons, pulling the jar out his open bag. "Ta-dah!"

"Dude, why do you have that?" The teammate before Nitori recoils.

"Isn't she great? Ai-senpai and I caught her just last night!"

"Well, _I_ did..." Ai's shrinking voice adds. He turns to the Momo, and their teammate dismisses himself with a shaking head. Once he's out of an earshot, Ai waves up at Momo. "Momo-kun, please, put her back in your bag before anyone else notices! It's probably a hazard to even have her out on campus..."

"Are you mad at me?" The taller ginger accuses loudly, obediently settling the jar back in the safety of his backpack.

"Ah? Oh, no, Momo-kun. Why do you ask?"

"You're being less senpai-y than usual, Ai-senpai!"

"S..senpai-y?"

Momo puckers out his lower lip in a pout, voice squeezing. "Is it because of last night?"

"N-no, it's not!" Nitori clasps his backpack's straps, ducking his steely mushroom head meekly and averting his gaze. A shade of pink dots porcelain cheeks, and he adds. "Nothing's the matter, Momo-kun, so please..."

"Ai-senpai—"

"Don't you have some beetles to mate? ...Or a beetle to show off?" The silver shota alludes to Gou, and Momo blinks in slight confusion.

"Well..." Nitori waves a hand, steadily turning foot. "Go do that! And good luck!" He says with a trace of a squeak.

The grey duckling takes off before Momo can formulate a proper response, and he stands, nailed in place from the awkward exchange between him and his senpai.

He didn't quite grasp what was going on with the vague hostility he received from Aiichirou. From what he recalls, they had a great night. Only the smaller boy _did_ go out of his way to catch the beetle they'd fruitlessly searched for. Momo wonders why he'd done that, anyway. He looked like such a wreck that morning, covered in dirt with little hashmarks dusted over his customary squeaky clean visage. Ai looked so proud to see the way he had reacted, Momo silently noted. It heartens the second-year, and the smile he easily plasters to his face fades with the thought of being a let-down to his elder.

But, by Ai's "wishes", Momo does as he's told and troops off and out Samezuka's campus in quest of a certain Matsuoka sibling.

* * *

Momo waited impatiently about Iwatobi's campus, squinting over several heads bobbing through the cobblestone streets until he sees the undeniably recognizable girl.

There she was, Gou Matsuoka, with her sugarplum up-do and scarlet gems of eyes. She was just striding along with a little brunette. Funny, when most of the time Momo had seen her, she'd be hanging around Rei, Nagisa _chi_ , and a couple other new members to Iwatobi's swim club. It'd been like that since Rin, Haru, and Sousuke graduated and gone off to college.

Momo really missed their former school competitors, _and_ Rin _and_ Sousuke.

The boy shakes his wild orange hair, along with the shivers of nostalgia he gains. He dashes to the girl in sight, sparks flaring in his citrus optics.

"Gou-saaan!"

Gou peers in the direction she's being called, eyes widening as she holds up her hands in feeble defense to the hyperactive boy.

"Gooouuu-san!"

"Oh, Momo-kun! So good to see you," She greets in that mousy voice she adapts whenever that boy comes a-knockin'. "What are you doing here?"

"To see you, of course!"

"Oh.." She cants her plum head, donning a little smile and glancing at the hands veiled behind Momo's back. "Did you get something?"

"Yes, yes! Check it out!" Extravagantly, the boy holds out the jar that bears his stag beetle and his mate, sparks pop-rocking about his head. "Ai-senpai and I call her _Mrs._ Pyuunsuke!"

Gou's hands fly up in terror of the jarred beetles, which she quickly puts off as a swell surprise by shaking them in feigned glee. "Aah, ohhh! You two are...very creative, Momo-kun!"

"I wouldn't say I'm one to take credit! It was all Ai-senpai's idea, anyway!"

"Oh, Nitori-san... How considerate!"

"Yes, I know!" Momo marvels at the beetles fidgeting around the jar's base. "We were out really late, but I totally crashed when we got back! Ai-senpai was nice enough to go and find her!"

"Really?" Gou's crimson optics briefly shuts over her smile. "How sweet. He must really care to do that _for you_ , Momo-kun!"

"Yea, he—" Momo halts, the proud glimmer in his eyes fading. His lips fairly purse as he raises his gaze up to the sky. "Oh, Gou-san. You're right. Maybe that's why he's been giving me the cold shoulder lately..."

"Mn?"

The ginger reflects: him, crawling about Samezuka's lawns, scouring skillfully. He hardly took notice of his senpai constantly tripping in the dark and putting off every little mishap blowing up in his face with a smile. Just thinking of how unlikely it was for his number one role model to follow him on such a outdoorsy adventure made the carrot top don a goofy smile. That's right. He had followed him all the way, just as Momo had when he was a first-year.

 _'I should've been more appreciative of Ai-senpai... He would never have done all of this stuff had it been...for me...'_

A gentle breeze settles over the young Mikoshiba, and his eyes dilate slowly. The incandescence of the early sunset draws a certain warmth to the typically boisterous boy, and his expression contorts with internal conflict.

 _'What am I doing? Ai-senpai did this /for me/! And I repay him by flaunting it all to Gou-san? What kind of friend am I?!'_

Gou's sweet voice pulls Momo out of his reverie, and she blinks at the boy expectantly. "Something the matter, Momo-kun?"

"Oh!" Momo flinches, an uncharacteristic twitch in his broad smile. "...I'm sorry, Gou-san, but I have to go see my senpai now! You just reminded me how much I have to thank Ai-senpai for doing so much for me!"

The Matsuoka sibling nods uncertainly, but displays a gentle smile anyway. Somehow, she can understand what exactly is donning over the Mikoshiba, and her cordial simper stretches, a gleam in her plum optics. "Right! ...Okay. Best of luck to you, Momo-kun!"

With her goodbye, the playful otter turns on the heel of his sneaker, waving. "Arigatou, Gou-saaan!"

So, the pursuit for Nitori is a go, and so is something else. He had to find Ai, and he had to apologize. Maybe he'd earn the kind of smile he'd seen blossom over the shota's face the prior night, before the melon soda incident. It was the first hopeful break he'd had. That hope buoyed Momo's mood as he passed down to Samezuka's narrow, winding sidewalk. He prays with ambition in his eyes.

 _'Something's bound to happen!'_

* * *

Clear by sunset, Momotarou had ambled back to Samezuka's dorms. His characteristically confident stride had slackened since he parted with Gou at Iwatobi's domain. Something about confronting Nitori on the previous night's situation gave his stomach a carnival-ride flip as the unfamiliar feelings came bubbling back up again. A boy like Momo had an attitude of armor getting by in the world, and Aiichirou had a way of dismantling his so easily.

The young citrus-head made a furtive attempt of entering their dorm room, only to see Nitori quietly perched and working at his desk. Our silver duckling hardly even acknowledges his roommate, rapt with the work before him. Momo inhales a deep breath before piercing the serene air with his grating voice. "I'm back, Ai-senpai!"

"Hello, Momo-kun.." Nitori's enchanting blues stay fixed to his papers. "Did you speak with Gou-san?"

"Yes, I did!" Momo replies without skipping a beat. "And she reminded me how nice it was of you to go out and find a Mrs. Pyuunsuke _for me_!"

The scratching noise running along Aiichirou's paper halts. "Oh," his babyish features pinch humorously, a fairly ironic lilt to his voice. "It took Gou-san for you to realize that."

Momo stands locked in an embarrassing momentary silence, playing with the chords of the yellow hoodie snugged under his white uniform. "Eh, yes! I mean, no. I know it was nice of you to do that for me!" He beams.

"Yes, how nice," the duckling leans a cheek in his palm, forefinger scratching the beauty mark dotting porcelain skin. "You're welcome."

 _'Yikes,'_ Momo makes a paw of his hand, miming a "kitty got scratch" gesture. He strips off his backpack, unpacking Pyuunsuke n' his "lovebug". Suddenly, the descending sun milks a glow like bellini cocktails, and casts a halo over Ai's steely bob of hair.

The young Mikoshiba draws a slow, dazzled intake of breath, mutely marveling over his senpai. The setting was so gracious to the feminine male, always. Momo scuttles up to bed, flopping on the mattress and observing his roommate like some endangered species. Even Ai, for someone who is so reserved, usually would've engaged in conversation with him. Why did Ai have the upper hand, suddenly?

This haunts the citrus boy, and he sulks, assessing the quiet one with squinted and sad, sad puppy eyes. It seems there is no way to calmly resolve the tense air Nitori puts off so easily, so Momo resorts to what he does best. Yamming senpai's ears off.

Eventually, Nitori's choppy responses fizzle to his typically considerate ones, and Momo's not even done reeling the shota into his claws. The boy's nestle into their own beds, the only sound in the room being the loud Mikoshiba's nonstop chatter. Ai scuttles under his sheets, hugging the pillow beneath his head at the sides like earmuffs. Momo does not even take a breath, it's astounding. The frazzled captain sighs in exhaustion, finally giving in and letting his high voice pop the air. "Momo-kun, _what_ do you _want_?"

An unsettling silence follows the query, paired with a yawned, "Ah...ha!" from Momo. "I knew you couldn't stay mad at me...Ai-senpai..."

The swim captain draws his bedsheets up to his face, serenely staring up at the mattress above, as if it were transparent. He inwardly reverts the question back to himself.

No, he wasn't mad at Momo-kun. The feeling of anger wasn't present at all. Rather, it was something bitter that Ai prefers keeping to himself. He lets his head sink against the pillow, unbidden tears pricking and pooling in the corners of his great azures. A loud snoozing whistles through their room, and Nitori figures this was simply Momotarou exhausting himself of conversation. The duckling, too, decides to toss over to sleep, that sinking, bitter feeling making the rhythm of his heartbeat badump vehemently. He hardly understands himself.

* * *

Moonlights spills through the dorm's window, and it cast the most heavenly glow upon the quaint space. The stars milking the sky blaze through the midnight blanket of the atmosphere, and it does anything but put Aiichirou Nitori to sleep. He lies in bed with hands tented over tucked sheets. Nothing had worked, not even counting sheep. The sour pit numbing his stomach keeps his eyes open, and his little nose twitches with disdain for himself.

He understands it wasn't right to give Momotarou the cold shoulder, but that bitter, sinking feeling just tore him from being the proper senpai he so strived to be. Something tugged at his heart when Momo's smile grew so at the mention of Gou, and it made him want to duck and hide for being so foolish. He figured all he had wanted from the silly carrot top was a little recognition, but there was an underlying ignition to his...jealousy! Ai flinches against his pillow, curling into himself. That was unlike him. The silver-haired leans off his pillow, flits of pink dusting his cheeks. Alas, his roommate is most likely sleeping, but the sudden realization propels him to come out with it.

"I'm sorry, Momo-kun. It wasn't fair of me to treat you so badly today. I let my emotions get the best of me, I guess..." Cerulean optics drop to the dark grey sheets, and he furthers. "I just wanted to prove I could equally be a good figure as Rin-senpai is to me. I've seen firsthand what a senpai is supposed to be, and I blew it with the way I acted today. You mentioning Gou so suddenly threw me off...after what I did. So, I'm sorry!" Ai enunciates, curling linen into his fists. He slowly shimmies himself back into a sleeping position before a drowsy voice invades.

"I knew...you were jealous..."

"Excuse me?!" Ai shoots up in protest, throwing his covers off. "I, I didn't mean it in that way, Momo-kun!"

A long pause ensues before another answer comes in a drawled tease.

"Ookay. Ai. Senpai."

Aquamarine hues squeeze in scorn, and the grey-bobbed captain squirms out of bed. He carefully levels himself on the edge of the double-decker, grasping up at the rails of Momo's bed and huffing. "You're...full of yourself! I told you, I was upset!"

Momo's eyes are fixed up at the ceiling, arms pretzeled under his mop of orange bedhead. "..Ya' know what's the synonym of 'upset'?"

"..."

"Jealous."

Aiichirou's lips pinch together in a flattened, taut line, and he confides. "Okay. Maybe after a night of losing my shoe, getting drenched with soda, falling several times, and getting chased by a rabid raccoon... _Maybe_ , Momo-kun, _Maybe_ I was a little jealous that you preferred to celebrate the gain of Mrs. Pyuunsuke with Gou-san." The heated shota bites out, huffing.

Lemony optics blink back in unspoken surprise, and the sophomore curled so comfily in his sheets perks a carrot-colored brow. "That's the most you've said to me all day."

"Momo-kun!" Nitori chides.

"I'm sorry," the orange one weakly laughs. "..Why would you do all that for me?"

The duckling falls blessedly quiet, and the atmosphere suddenly flows thicker. Momo turns onto his stomach, hiking himself up on his elbows and inching to the silent one.

"You like me, Ai-senpai?" Momo presses, though with a trace of unsurety.

Silence thickens, and Nitori's cheeks flare like Christmas lights. He stares at the other bewilderedly, mouth slightly agape and empty of a proper response. While so, Momotarou's unnatural tranquility allows him to study Ai through heavy, sleep-addled eyes. Gently, he reaches out and a traces a fingertip from the edge of the boy's brow, connecting and invisible line to his beauty mark and grinning impishly. Ai merely flinches to the touch, but finds himself glued to his spot before the younger. The orange-haired cants his head slowly, studying the face he'd helplessly fallen for before leaning forward and pressing his lips against Nitori's for a kiss.

He felt a minor jolt before the soft lips shy against his own, and the briefness of it all was completely clumsy in their half-awakened state.

The silver and small captain draws back, aquatic optics shimmering in a dazed stupor as he murmurs. "Momo-kun..."

Ai's pale hands fly up to cup over his mouth, and his entire body runs plank stiff. He teeters backwards and crashes into the floor in a crumpled heap. Momo winces, warbling and hastening to the ground. "AI-SENPAI," he crows, kneeling beside the squirt of a captain and jostling him. "Ai-senpai! Ai-senpai, are you all right?!"

The silver one stirs, slowly regaining consciousness. His soft features contort in a grimace to hearing Momo's raucous voice so late, and he squints up at the other, groaning quietly. "Did I wake you, Momo-kun? Why am I on the floor?"

The sea otter's lips purse in an unheard "oh", a hand fetching up to his unruly orange tresses and shaking awkwardly. Ai seemed to have knocked any remnants of their kiss out of his noggin from the fall, and something about breaking that to the boy didn't settle well with the Mikoshiba. Impulsively, he answers. "Uh, you fell out of bed."

"All the way from there?" Ai sleepily queries, indicating to his bottom bunk with a loll of his head and insulting dubious tone.

"All the way from there," his roommate says. "...Let's get you back to bed, senpai."

And he does.

 _And he doesn't remember._

* * *

Sunrise pierces the room like every other morning. The Samezuka swim boys follow their same routine as any other day, but Momotarou keeps one eye out for his roommate.

After fitting in their stark ivory uniforms, the two are making use of good conversation until Momo finally adds. "You don't remember what happened last night, Ai-senpai?"

The grey shota with the mushroom bob merely arches a full brow, faintly shaking his head. "I told you, Momo-kun, all I remembered was...saying how sorry I was. It's not something I'd like to tread on, so please—"

"Apology accepted!"

"...Funny you should be the one saying that," Nitori sullenly puffs a cheek.

Momo merely waves a hand, innocently squeezing his eyes shut and snickering. Lemony optics snap back open to the sight of the mason jar perched at his desk. He scrambles over, momentarily silent before crowing. "Ai-senpai! Look, Pyuunsuke ate all his—! Nani? How'd you get in there..."

Nitori peers over his teammate's shoulder, brows lifting. "What is it, Momo-kun?"

Momotarou squints attentively at the stag beetles occupying the expansive jar, gold hues glazing over in a slooow deadpan. He'd been so busy flaunting the bugs, the dumb otter hadn't even taken much note of Mrs. Pyuunsuke's appearance.

"Ai-senpai..."

"Nn?"

"...Mrs. Pyuunsuke is a... _Mr._ Pyuunsuke."

"AH?!" Gloomlines droop down Nitori's cheek, and his shoulders hang loose. He quickly turns to his companion. "How can you tell?"

"See these pinchers," Momotarou indicates to _Mr._ Pyuunsuke. "They're oddly small for a male. You must've mistaken him for a girl, 'cause he's a little more underdeveloped and feminine-looking than most guys! It's a rookie mistake, Ai-senpai."

Somehow, those words sound a tad familiar to Nitori, and he deadpans. "Well, then it's _your_ job to find a real Mrs. Pyuunsuke, Momo-kun..."

"I don't think so!"

"Eh?"

The second-year straightens his broad posture, snickering. "They seem pretty happy with each other, so maybe it's best we leave 'em be!"

Aiichirou blinks questionably, glancing at the stag beetles cozying up in the jar. His baby blue gaze fixes up to Momo, who seems to be assessing him with knowing eyes. The swim captains feels himself shrink under the other's gaze, and he ducks his head, a feeble curl gracing his lips upward. He pumps a fist at his side, nodding curtly. "Hai!"

"All right. Let's get going, then, Ai-senpai!" The taller ushers his senpai out the door with a little shove, and the two amble out the door, leaving their lovebugs in peace.

And even though fall has come, and the leaves wither, and the pumpkins sprout, these boys will always run back to remember.

 _'This one...was for us...'_

* * *

 **a/n: Surprise, surprise! Looks like Pyuunsuke's the true fruitcake here! This was so fun to write! I'm not one to be into fast progressive, but it kind of comes out as a people pleaser, anyway, right? Anyways, this is the conclusion to our little dual perspective Momotori fic. Hope y'all enjoyed!**


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